Kyle Ragsdale of the Harrison Center and Martha Narhwold of the Circle City Industrial Complex will be joined by 30 other Indianapolis artists to have their work displayed at the 98th annual Hoosier Salon exhibition.
The event will open Saturday, Aug. 27, and runs through Oct. 23 at the Indiana State Museum.
This year’s juried exhibit will feature 155 artworks by 129 artists in eight categories – figure, still life, abstract, three-dimensional work, watercolor, portrait, landscape and original work or print on paper.
Twenty-two artists are being featured for the first time and seven former Best of Show winners have work in the exhibit. Other Indy artists (first-time exhibitors with asterisks) are:
Jo Belmont, Laura Crawford,* David Cunningham, Forrest L. Formsma, Karen A. Graeser,* Sheryl Haines,* Jeannie Hilfiker, Lawrence Hunter, Judith Jensen, Liisa Le,* Cheryle J. Lowe,
Ronald P. Mack, A. Cassia Margolis, Deborah McCloud,* Bob Meyers, Craig W. Mullins,* Bruce L. Neckar, Kami Noland, Kate Orr, Allan Peters,* Nicole Powell, Ann C. Rose, Betty J. Scarpino, Beth Clary Schwier, Donna Shortt, Rita Spalding, Justin C. Vining, Steve Warner, April G. Willy and Kevin J. Wilson.
“The Indiana State Museum is once again honored to host this important exhibit,” said Mark Ruschman, the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites’ senior curator of art and culture. “This is a great opportunity for our visitors to see the amazing artistic talent from across the state, featuring a wide variety of media, technique and subject matter.”
To be eligible for the competition, an artist must be a Hoosier Salon member and must have lived in Indiana for a minimum of one year at any point during his or her life.
All the work in the show is available for sale beginning Aug. 25 through Oct. 23 online at www.hoosiersalon.org.
“You might think you have seen it all after 98 years of the Hoosier Salon annual exhibition, but that is not true,” said Michael Quinn, Hoosier Art Salon board president. “Indiana artists continue to amaze us with new ways to really see and appreciate nature, objects, people and experiences. It is the perfect opportunity to discover new artists and experience a wide array of Indiana artists’ works in one place.”
The Hoosier Salon legacy began in 1925 when the Daughters of Indiana opened the doors to the first exhibition of Indiana contemporary artists at Marshall Field and Company Galleries in Chicago. In 1942, the exhibit moved to downtown Indianapolis – first at the William H. Block (until 1977), then at L.S. Ayres and Co. (1978-89). In 1990, the Hoosier Salon exhibit came to the Indiana State Museum, where it has been ever since except for a stint at the Indiana Historical Society from 2005-2010.
ARTWORK ABOVE: Stephanie Spay’s Grasp, named the 2021 Best of Show.
